IN the wake of Teignbridge District Council voting majority in favour to demolish a historic Newton Abbot site, the town’s Civic society has weighed in on the matter.

Newton Abbot & District Civic Society writes: ‘The council meeting on July 30 was intense, from the start.

By the time we finally persuaded the Bradley Lane Item to be brought forward, (which was initially refused) out of respect to members of the public taking time out of their day to attend, there was a fierce focus on the details.

The newly elected leader, Councillor Keeling, stated that "To clear the majority of the site is going to save us, in the ballpark, over four years, a million pounds."

This figure was not explained, and no Part two even happened to explain it as a breakdown.

The Asset Manager then said that there were significant holding costs of around £200,000 per year, and a significant health and safety implication to the council.

However, the authority evicted all their commercial tenants between 2019 and 2022, before the planning application even materialised, losing multiple streams of commercial rent since that time, and allowing the buildings to fall into neglect and disrepair.

Devon and Cornwall police have repeatedly asked them to make the site secure, and their answer is they do not have the money.

The security has consisted of some Heras fencing, with pieces added - wooden bars across the top, a bit of razor wire fence, some anti vandal paint.

Young people are curious, and will always seek to investigate abandoned buildings.

Only now are they installing a three metre high fence around the site, which conveniently will house their "site preparation" equipment.

This was moving forward before the Full Council meeting.  NADCS has been working for over three years now to see a vibrant outcome for Bradley Lane Mills, by embracing the environmental benefits of renovation rather than demolition, and succeeding in an alternative vision being commissioned by national charity Save Britain's Heritage with architect Jonathan Dransfield, which provided more homes and employment and community space than the previous developers' plans had been able to.

You can see it online, and many were inspired by it at a public exhibition last May.

The architect has worked on large scale industrial sites such as Perran Foundry in Cornwall, and Sarsons Vinegar Factory in London.  One of the most alarming parts of the meeting came as the chamber was about to go to vote.

A formal confirmation of an expression of interest, made by a developer to take forward the alternative vision, was submitted to Teignbridge on 24 July.

This could only be done once the current developers were out of contract, which had only just been confirmed.

The letter has not been acknowledged yet by the authority.

Equally, not one member of the council informed the chamber that this offer had come in, and several councillors were suggesting that should a better design come in, that would be the best way forward.

This was substantial information that could affect the vote. At least two councillors had already requested a deferral on the decision, this was talked down by executive members. It caused a member of the public to shout the information into the chamber, in frustration.

Only then did Councillor Palethorpe, the portfolio holder for assets, admit to the chamber that the letter had been received, and attempted to say they did not know who it had come from. This was challenged by Councillor MacGregor who stated which three councillors had received it, and the date and time.  Finally, another reason why demolition is not the answer, is Sun Court, the derelict site in town adjacent to the Clocktower.

Originally a Teignbridge owned site, the authority evicted Seymour Horwell in the year 2000, demolished all of the buildings, and yet, 24 years later, it is still empty, and a mess.

That site is also contaminated, just like Bradley Lane is.

It remains to be seen whether the government department will allow up to £1.5 million of Future High Street Fund to enable nothing more than the demolition of an historic site.